Last week, word came from the lawyer for former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe that his client and the team had reached agreement on a settlement of the issues related to Kluwe’s departure from the team in 2013.

The two sides made that settlement official on Tuesday with a joint press release.

“As a family we have long-supported equal rights causes, including marriage equality,” said Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf in the release. “We are glad a resolution of this matter has been reached, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to create positive awareness of these issues.”

“I’m pleased that the issue has been resolved,” said Kluwe. “I intend to continue to speak out on behalf of marriage equality, and I am pleased to be a part of the impact the Vikings material charitable contributions will have on LGBT and related causes.”

Kluwe alleged that he was let go by the team because of his outspoken support of marriage equality and that special teams coach Mike Priefer made homophobic remarks during the 2012 season. The Vikings released the report of an investigation into the allegations that found Kluwe was released for football reasons and the team suspended Priefer for up to three games for what the report said was one homophobic comment. Kluwe contemplated litigation, but the settlement puts an end to that possibility.

As part of the settlement, the Vikings will donate money to five LGBT groups over the next five years. The amount of money was not disclosed, though Kluwe’s lawyer Clayton Halunen called it “substantial”

“Everybody knows the numbers we have been talking about over the past seven months,” Halunen said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “It’s substantial … Chris will receive absolutely nothing from this settlement.”

In the release, the Vikings also promised to “continue to enhance its sensitivity training policy” in the wake of Priefer’s suspension.

So in other words, not only did Kluwe not receive money, but he spent a lot of time and effort and went through an ordeal, and he took on all of those personal costs for no other reason than to promote a worthy cause. It’s good that now everybody can realize this wasn’t about money for his benefit, but rather the benefit of others.

This is a good deal for any and all people that Kluwe has aided through representation and for the team to resolve the issue and improve themselves. The extra sensitivity training is a good idea and we should all strive to be more sensitive since that can be an often overlooked trait.

So when is Kluwe (or his lawyer) going to make a monetary contribution to the victims of Jerry Sandusky? What? He’s not?

So in other words, it’s okay for Kluwe to mock Sandusky’s victims in front of an entire locker room, but when Mike Preifer makes one foul comment in an attempt to shut Kluwe up and concentrate on his job, Priefer should have been banned from the NFL and the Vikings should pay up?

The Vikings caved on this. They should have taken him to court; they would have won.

I am so thankful to have visionary leaders like Zygi and Mark Wilf to lead this organization through these turbulent waters. They set the standard for exemplary leadership. We are blessed to have them in our family.

Skol Vikings!

themeccalambeaufield says:Aug 19, 2014 11:08 AM

Minnesota franchise is a stain on the NFL. Tried to cover this up and had to cave.

thestrategyexpert says:
Aug 19, 2014 10:56 AM
So in other words, not only did Kluwe not receive money, but he spent a lot of time and effort and went through an ordeal, and he took on all of those personal costs for no other reason than to promote a worthy cause. It’s good that now everybody can realize this wasn’t about money for his benefit, but rather the benefit of others.

This is a good deal for any and all people that Kluwe has aided through representation and for the team to resolve the issue and improve themselves. The extra sensitivity training is a good idea and we should all strive to be more sensitive since that can be an often overlooked trait.

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so your saying its OK to extort companies for your own benefit, ahem, I mean charities benefit? Ok, thanks for the moral lesson Jesse Jackson

I miss the days that decisions were made from a realistic perspective….and with common sense. The fact that this “phobia” of political correctness has taken over all logic in this country makes one shake their heads. For the most part NO ONE CARES what people do with their personal lives anymore…..SO STOP SHOVING THE Micheal Sam STORY AND Chis Kluwless STORY IN OUR FACES!!!

farmmbig says:
Aug 19, 2014 11:06 AM
And being Kluwe has said he didn’t do this for the money— I wonder whether he has actually donated the “settlement” to the cause?… Perhaps PFT can follow-up and verify this??
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Can you not read? The money goes from the Vikings to LGBT groups. Kluwe is done with the situation completely.

6ball says:Aug 19, 2014 11:29 AM

.
With the Kluwe situation resolved, the Vikings can resume doing what they do best…… losing.
.

nyneal says:Aug 19, 2014 11:30 AM

Kluwe got what he wanted. He got lots of publicity for his agenda and he got money out of the Vikings.
I am not against gays. They can play in the NFL or do any other job so long as they leave their sexual preference outside the work place, just as heterosexuals should do.
However, I will never believe that a marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman is the same as a marriage between a man and a woman.
If you have to ask me why, then you just don’t understand and never will.
So — I only hope that Kluwe disappears and we never hear from him again. The fact that he was not a good punter has been lost in all of this.
The same goes for Michael Sam. If he makes it, fine. If he gets cut, that’s fine, too. I just want to watch football without all this extra crap.

purpleguy says:Aug 19, 2014 11:31 AM

Good, now we can move on to other more interesting things, like Packer’s players fighting over beard quality and who gets to injure their ACL or pull their hamstring in the next practice.

Jesus answered: “Many will come claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, there will be famines and earthquakes and the MINNESOTA VIKINGS will donate substantial monies to LGBT”

farmmbig says:
Aug 19, 2014 11:04 AM
Kluwe actually did more harm for the cause. Teams will most likely be less willing to sign or draft someone that may cause these type of distractions—- Especially Punters!
________________

Gay rights have moved extremely fast over the last 10 years. Obviously this is not all because of Kluwe but talking about it has helped.

The Vikings were very happy to settle because they want this distraction gone so they can concentrate on football. Kluwe was very happy to settle because the more stuff that comes out on this, the worse he looks, and he knew he couldn’t win in court. All this because a guy made one ill-considered off-hand comment.

thebiffer says:
Aug 19, 2014 11:31 AM
“Tell us, what will be the sign of the end of the world?”

Jesus answered: “Many will come claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, there will be famines and earthquakes and the MINNESOTA VIKINGS will donate substantial monies to LGBT”

Matthew 24

_____________
You should check out Courous George. I prefer for my made up stories to have some hijinks.

– Suspended Priefer for 3 games
– Settled for a “substantial” amount of money (between $1M and $10M according to my sources), and
– Continue to enhance its sensitivity training policy in the wake of Priefer’s suspension.

all for “one ill-considered off-hand comment.” If you believe that, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

Gay marriage will be legal everywhere in the next few years. They’ve won every court case
except for one because of some mouth breathing judge in some flyover state.
=================================

You sure sound excited about that.

utahgetme2 says:Aug 19, 2014 12:15 PM

“… Chris will receive absolutely nothing from this settlement.”

Ahhh…not really. That narcissist is receiving exactly what he craves–attention. Another article written about him, more people talking about him, more discussions about him. Another member of the “Self-Righteous Club” waves the flag for all to see what a deeply feeling and caring person he is…blah, blah, freaking blah…

weepingjebus says:Aug 19, 2014 12:15 PM

“Although Kluwe himself will receive nothing under the settlement, his level 34 gnome will receive a sack of gold and an exclusive customized hat.”

revskip says:Aug 19, 2014 12:26 PM

thestrategyexpert says:
Aug 19, 2014 10:56 AM
This is a good deal for any and all people that Kluwe has aided through representation and for the team to resolve the issue and improve themselves. The extra sensitivity training is a good idea and we should all strive to be more sensitive since that can be an often overlooked trait.

I don’t know where you get that. It isn’t okay for management to make remarks that are offensive without repercussions is the take away I am getting. Glad to see the Vikings doing the right thing here and donating some money to LGBT causes. Sad to see that they let Priefer keep his job after he was proved to be lying.

osiris33 says:Aug 19, 2014 12:27 PM

Add this to the list of things nobody outside the media cares about, along with the Redskins name.

ejmat2 says:Aug 19, 2014 12:37 PM

tokyosandblaster says:
Aug 19, 2014 10:58 AM
It’s so sad when a team that has so little talent, like the vikings (easily the least talented team in the NFL) loses a player that personifies their fan base.

In Kluwe, they had a champion for their cause.
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Another idiotic comment by tokyo. “Least talented team in the NFL”? Really?

What happened again to the Packers when they lost Aaron Rodgers? Talk about being a talent-less team. They lose one player and lose just about every game. Vikings may not be as talented as other teams but they certainly arn’t the least in the NFL.

Its not enough that we treat the LGT whatever else community fairly and respectfully, now we are expected to embrace them and profess our undying affection for their lifestyle…I could not care less about their orientation but I grow exceedingly weary of it being shoved down my throat! ….Love IS love and I would deny it to no one….does not mean that I want or need to hear about it incessantly! What ever happened to being discreet in one’s actions? And …why do they need money donated on their behalf? Makes no sense to me…but then again, so much of what’s goin on these days makes no sense to me… As a species, don’t we have much bigger fish to fry?

I see this differently. The title talks about a settlement regarding Kluwe’s departure. Nothing about offensive remarks. That is what this is all about, Kluwe’s departure. The Vikings position is “we would rather give the money to anyone else before we would give you another nickel you miserable troublemaker”. So they did.

I’m good with this. Now go away Chris, far away.

randomcommenter says:Aug 19, 2014 12:51 PM

A guy who is not gay, just sued and won money claiming he was discriminated against as if he was gay. Let that sink in. We are moving past gay rights to gay privilege.

Everybody knew the vikings were going to lose. It was just a question of how much.

The vikings didn’t seem to realize how much scandal would be made public until Kluwe mentioned the high school girl incident. The vikings would have disclosed how they handled/paid off the various scandals (just during the Kluwe years).

Kluwe now has a job administering the trust fund he will create with the proceeds of the settlement.

For a franchise that is near the bottom of the league in revenue, this is a significant financial loss.

Now it is time to deal with the other vikings’ scandals, the suspension of players and future scandals that happen frequently to this franchise.

While statistically Kluwe is rated number one in Vikings history due to his longevity I don’t miss the media circus that comes with it. What I do miss is Kluwe handling the snap and ball placement for field-goals. Locke has made Walsh miss some kicks he easily made with Kluwe.

stellarperformance says:Aug 19, 2014 1:30 PM

Three cheers for Kluwe. He took on every employer that belittles, insults, abuses, diminishes, and bullies those that are not in a position to defend against these time-worn tactics of control and intimidation.

He should be applauded, but, predictably, the Minneanderthals will be out in force, with their insults and put-downs, because that is all they have to fight with. That’s it.

“Hey Chris, you wanna talk about that whole Penn State thing? Yanno, mocking the situation on a consistent basis?”

“Uh… well… I….the Wilfs should donate all the money to charities, I didn’t really even want a penny of it anyway…”

Notice how that worked? He went hard at the Vikes for having a prejudice he felt was disgusting and resulting in his dismissal, then he gets called out for his lewd behavior and essentially making a mockery of young kids getting molested at Penn State, and suddenly, a quick settlement comes around. I think Kluwe settled as a means of damage control. He continued to look worse in the public eye, he knew his 15 minutes of fame were over, and he had NO shot in court to see a dime. This was the only thing he could do.

And don’t worry- that whole “not seeing a penny thing?” That’s a cover. I’m sure he will somehow see something out of this, whether it’s managing the trust funds for the charities or writing books about all of this… he will profit.

All the Vikings fans kept saying it was a money grab by Kluwe (which if you could read you know it wasn’t) because they blindly support their train wreck franchise and can’t take off the purple blinders.

The Vikings have always found new ways to embarrass themselves and this is just an example of another. SKOLOLOLOL!

For as many of you that seem to want this thing to go away, you constantly click and comment on every thread that speaks to the issue. This effort practically requires the site to continue to create posts about it.

Eyeballs and clicks mean advertising. Want it to stop, then refrain from clicking and commenting. It really is that simple.

Same shameless self-promotion, same extortionist tactics, same myopic zealotry, same symptoms (diarrhea of the mouth), given the same deference and attention by the left-leaning media, same hypocrisies, same results – namely, doing more damage than good to the cause/group they claim to be champions of.

Did all you right-wing Kluwe haters read the article? Kluwe isn’t getting a dime from the Vikings. All the money from the settlement is going to worthy LGBT organizations and will help a lot of people. Kluwe was never in this for himself–he did it to further the cause of equality for every citizen. (The fact that he isn’t taking any money from the settlement is the proof.) What have YOU done to make a difference like that? If you can’t respect Kluwe’s motives and efforts in this case, then you’re a soulless, bigoted cretin who wouldn’t recognize the truth if it bit you in the butt.

What would Rodgers think? That’s an odd question. But considering he is a very intelligent person who, like me and others, wish only the best for the oppressed, I am reasonably certain he agrees with Kluwe. Unlike most of the knuckle-draggers on this thread (not you of course,) I am certain he agrees that Kluwe did the right thing.

Does that answer it for you?

defscottyb says:Aug 19, 2014 5:28 PM

Nobody cares… The Vikings settled with Kluwe just to finally get rid of him. #GoAwayKluwe

I have two strong beliefs that are relevant to this story. 1: Gays and lesbians deserve equal rights as heterosexual couples. 2: Chris Kluwe needs to go away and stay gone.

seahawkfanfrom1970s says:Aug 19, 2014 6:00 PM

nyyjetsknicks says:
Aug 19, 2014 11:46 AM
thebiffer says:
Aug 19, 2014 11:31 AM
“Tell us, what will be the sign of the end of the world?”

Jesus answered: “Many will come claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, there will be famines and earthquakes and the MINNESOTA VIKINGS will donate substantial monies to LGBT”

Matthew 24

_____________
You should check out Courous George. I prefer for my made up stories to have some hijinks.
*******************************

We get it. You’re a liberal and an atheist and you want all the posters at ProFootballTalk to notice.

TheWizard says:Aug 19, 2014 6:09 PM

And it is so secure with its atheism that it needs to ridicule others who are believers.